Vincent Milewski and Morganne MacDonald, who also make haggis pasties, are trying to boost haggis' image.

Macski's Highland Foods has put haggis in link form.

The jokes, the derision. The warnings about body parts like lung and intestines. The fact that traditionally, the meat dish is cooked in a sheep's stomach.

It's sausage, OK? The "great chieftain o the puddin'(sausage)-race," according to poet Robert Burns in his famous "Address to a Haggis."

We're a sausage kind of town, right?

And as interpreted by a local couple who are taking their haggis business national, it's actually quite tasty.

Vincent Milewski and his wife, Morganne MacDonald, who live in Kansasville near Union Grove, spent years perfecting their recipe, starting with some "absolutely pathetic" versions, she said.

MacDonald first tasted haggis on a trip to her ancestors' homeland at the age of 15 - and liked it from first bite. Milewski, who is Polish but has happily adopted his wife's heritage (he owns eight kilts), said he loved haggis the first time he tried it.

Last year, the architect (Milewski) and the attorney and romance writer (MacDonald, pen name Leigh Morgan) formed Macski's Highland Foods to sell and market their products commercially. So far, their haggis links - full-size for buns and appetizer-size minis - and their pasties made with haggis have been served at both the Milwaukee Highland Games in Hart Park and the Wisconsin Highland Games in Waukesha.

McBob's Pub & Grill in Milwaukee sells the mini links as part of its Trinity appetizer and also sold Macski's products last year at Irish Fest.

The couple are aiming to get their products at highland games in all 48 contiguous states, as well as at assorted Renaissance festivals.

Already, they are the official haggis maker of the St. Andrew's Society of the city of Milwaukee, a Scottish cultural and charitable organization founded in 1859. It is their haggis that will be ceremoniously presented to members on Jan. 26 at the society's annual Robert Burns banquet at the Wisconsin Club. (Jan. 25 is the 254th anniversary of the birthday of the poet, more famously the author of "Auld Lang Syne.")

Retail sales could be next. The couple are in talks with the Balistreri Sendik's stores to carry their products (links and bulk sausage to start). And soon, their fresh-frozen products will be sold on Amazon, where presently only canned haggis is available.

As enthusiastic as the couple are about their unique product, they know what they're up against. Americans of Scottish descent are thrilled to be able to purchase a high-quality version of the national dish of Scotland. (There are some 29 million Scots in the U.S.) Persuading other consumers to try it poses more of a challenge. They're used to hearing "eew" just at the mention of the word.

Misconceptions about haggis are rampant. Milewski cleared up a few: No. 1, it is not made with intestines (though Macski's links are enclosed in natural casings, same as bratwurst). No. 2, no one eats that sheep's stomach.

What struck the couple in their travels to Scotland was that as many places as they tried haggis, they never had the same version twice. Haggis recipes in Scotland are a closely guarded secret. Milewski and MacDonald, as well, won't share what's in their spice blend other than to say the dominant flavor is black pepper. (This you can tell on your own.)

Like authentic haggis, Macski's haggis is made with lamb - specifically, lamb hearts and liver, purchased through Strauss Brands in Franklin from a farm in Colorado. The other main ingredients are steel-cut oats and onions.

Unlike haggis in Scotland, the local product does not include lung (it's illegal in the U.S.), and the haggis is cooked in a cellulose cooking bag, not a sheep's stomach.

"Had they had these bags a thousand years ago in Scotland," Milewski said, "they wouldn't have used sheep's stomachs, either."

Making haggis into links was a major departure from tradition, and getting that right took some doing. Even now, Milewski warns that the fully cooked links should be grilled over low heat - never microwaved, or they could explode.

The final difference is the couple's attempt to make a healthier, more natural product. They replaced the traditional beef lard with soybean oil. The lamb they use has no antibiotics or growth hormones, and the animals are grass-fed.

The couple made a point of visiting the farm in Colorado where the lambs are raised before settling on a source. It was important to MacDonald, a vegetarian for the last 10 years, to see that the animals were raised humanely.

She is especially excited about the vegetarian version of haggis that Macski's will be coming out with soon. Substituting beans and Portobello mushrooms for meat, the veggie version looks and pretty much tastes just like the regular, Milewski said.

Also planned for the coming year are both a meat and vegetarian haggis shepherd's pie, a mousse-like haggis spread similar to a p té, and a hand-held macaroni and cheese pie, a popular street food in Scotland - using, naturally, Wisconsin cheeses.

The local connection is important for the couple, both lifelong Wisconsinites.

The haggis is made for them by Silver Creek Specialty Meats in Oshkosh. The haggis pasties (1-pound and 3-ounce sizes) are made by the Pasty Oven in Florence, near the U.P.

The couple also own Macski's Highland Gear; Milewski crafts leather sporran, the traditional "purses" worn at the waist with kilts, inscribing them with clan badges. And MacDonald is working on a Scottish cookbook that will include recipes for using the bulk haggis and haggis links.

As for their food products, it comes down to filling a niche, MacDonald said, while offering "good, healthy, wholesome and local family food."

I wish, wish, wish this was available at local stores, such as Sendik's, Outpost or even Pick N Save! My daughter's wedding is coming up this summer and as a proud Scot, haggis SHOULD be part of the festivities! And if you have not tried it, you should! Delicious!!